Chief of the UFO labor union Nikoley Baublies told Spiegel it was unreal to resolve the dispute in lesser period than six weeks and flight attendants would not be staging strikes within this period of time.

He also said earlier that strikes during mediation are illegal under German labor law.

Flight attendants demand a 5-percent increase in wages. Because of the financial crunch, Lufthansa plans to lay off 3,500 employees and economize 1.5 billion euros over the next three years. In order to reduce its costs Lufthansa plans to reform its subsidiary airline Germanwings and partially move there Lufthansa employees by paying them lower wages.

Last Friday’s strike was held at the country’s major airports in Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Dusseldorf and Stuttgart. Nearly 1,200 flights were grounded.